Fridge repairer

I recently purchased a fridge off gumtree which turned out not to be working. I didn’t try it out as soon as I purchased it as I was still using my old one and now the seller has moved overseas so there is no recourse there. I did try calling him and he insisted that it worked, so not sure if it got damaged during transit but I doubt it.

The problem with it is that it doesn’t get cold (both freezer and fridge compartment). I left it on overnight to test it out.

I’m not sure now if I should get it repaired (if it costs too much then I probably won’t bother). I have spoken to Samsung, the manufacturer of the fridge and they have advised me of their preferred repairer in Fyshwick. I contacted them and they are quoting over $100 for a call out then $33 for every 15 mins plus parts

Would it be worth repairing? Does anyone have any recommendations for an honest cheap fridge repairer or should I just resell it on gumtree and hope that a handyman will buy it to fix up? Or should I just take this as a lesson learnt

You will find that most appliance repairers will charge a call-out fee (although not possibly not as much as Samsung) and then charge on a time-and-materials basis. The question of whether to repair the fridge is really up to you – why did you buy it, to replace your old fridge or as a garage/beer fridge? The Yellow Pages should have a good selection of potential repairers, but don’t forget to quote the model number and be as specific as you can about the problem. For example, does it make any noise to indicate that at least something is working? In my experience, the main thing that goes wring with fridges is the compressor. Once this is replaced, then the fridge should give many years of service. If the fridge is in otherwise good condition, then if it were me I’d take a punt and least find out what is wrong with it. You can then decide whether to proceed if the cost isn’t too much.

Did you lay it down when you picked it up and travelled with it? Has it been sitting in a shed and you have now placed it inside? (Was it standing upright in the shed?) Sometimes you have to leave them to sit after you have moved them from once place to another.

The easiest fault finding you can do is to listen if the compressor starts [can you hear the whirring noise from the back of the fridge?]. If the compressor hasn’t kicked in when the power is turned on, then it could point to many things like lack of gas, broken thermostat, clapped out compressor or a wiring fault. If it is a newer fridge, there is an auto-defrost thermostat that stops the cooling procedure and melts the ice away, this often plays up and prevents cooling also.
Can you see why they charge so much now, the fault finding process can be complex and accessing the parts even more so, with the myriad of parts to disassemble.
I definitely wouldn’t recommend pulling the thermostat apart and bridging wires together if you haven’t got an electrical background, especially if your house isn’t fitted with RCD protection, as death is a possible consequence.
Personally, I’d write it off and consider it a lesson learned, second hand electronic goods nowadays just aren’t worth the hassle whilst new appliances are almost the same cost as replacement parts and come with at least 12 months warranty.

Not that I am a tradie, but comments like this show how little people know about how the real world works. Think about what that $132/h pays for. It isn’t wages straight into that persons pocket. By the time you take into account everything that has to be paid out of it, it is probably closer to around $40-50 in the pocket as pay.